Page:Hornung - Irralies Bushranger.djvu/114

 Then surely there was little to be feared from the male encampment so much farther away; and she would have to pit her wits against those of the established guard alone. She would outwit them, never fear! She would give them a false alarm, and then tear open the door the moment their backs were turned. Thoughts wild as these darted through her brain in the first excitement of resolve; but her preparations were no less swiftly and cunningly made.

She changed her ball-slippers for a bedroom pair that would make no noise on the veranda. She enveloped herself from head to heel in an old, black waterproof cloak, which would never be seen in the shadow of a veranda or through the fronds of a pine. She put matches and a candle-end in her pocket; and thus accoutred she crept out, shutting the door very softly behind her.

The moon was setting in a blur of clouds; that was one thing already in Irralie's favor. She stole to the corner of the front veranda, and peeped round very cautiously